Archaeologists overseeing the revamp of one of the city’s most prominent historic venues are set to go on the hunt for hidden stairways and concealed doors.
The 700-year-old Halls, in St Andrews Street, are to undergo a fresh round of investigations as part of urgent repair work needed at the site.
While preparations for the revamp are being carried out, including finding a suitable site for a new lift, archaeologists working for Norwich City Council (NCC) will look for hidden features in the buildings, including a staircase and doorway.
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To carry out the work, a planning application must be approved by City Hall.
The existence of the stairs is in doubt, with the suggestion coming from a plan of the building created in 1762 by William Ivory.
Ivory was the son of Norwich builder Thomas Ivory, who constructed the Assembly House on Theatre Street and Octagon Chapel in Colegate.
Cordons were placed around windows which are believed to be at risk (Image: George Thompson, LDR)
An application submitted to NCC said: “The plan by William Ivory shows a spiral stair which provided access from the cloister to the main level and possibly the room over the crypt.
“This location for a stair has been repeated often in subsequent interpretative plans, but without discussion or analysis, and there is no visible or other recorded evidence for such a stair.”
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The report brands the stairway “suspect” with archaeologists theorising he has “misplaced” a medieval spiral staircase that exists to the south.
It adds: “Nonetheless, it is possible that a stair did exist in this location and the survival of the lower part of this would have significant implications for the construction of a lift.”
The evidence for a concealed door to the cloister is suggested by “an exposed run of jamb stones” but the report acknowledges that “nothing else is known of the doorway”.
THE HALLS: A HISTORY
The Halls were originally constructed by the Friars Penitential in the early 1300s before it was taken over by the Dominicans, or Black Friars.
Parts of the Halls have been rebuilt over the years, with extensive works in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Historic England describes the buildings as “the most complete surviving medieval friary in England and one of only 15 friaries to retain significant upstanding remains”.
Charles Dickens once performed at the Halls
During the Reformation in the 1500s, the building was taken over by the city for civic events, with the first mayor’s feast held there in 1544.
Following that it was used for guild meetings, as an assize court and corn exchange, while the Earl of Warwick stabled his horses there when he came to crush Kett's rebellion in 1549.
From 1712 to 1859 part of the cloister served as a workhouse and in 1716 the south porch was used as England’s first public lending library.
St Andrew’s is now one of the largest indoor venues in the city, with a seating capacity of 900.
In the past, it has hosted readings by Charles Dickens and performances by 19th century superstar opera singer Jenny Lind.
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